I met Friday at Wired Cafe with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, who represents most of Rockford’s west side, Freeport and west to the Mississippi River. She and other congresswomen from both parties spent Mother’s Day in Afghanistan with female U.S. troops. During her nearly weeklong visit, Bustos, D-East Moline, questioned U.S. generals and Afghans about the American troop withdrawal and what might happen when we’re gone. She traveled into dangerous territory.

“We had a lot of opportunities to get out and talk with regular Afghan people, which a lot of congressional delegations don’t get,” Bustos said, “and Afghans are very worried” about the post-American future. From a high of 160,000 U.S. troops in 850 locations throughout Afghanistan, Bustos said that we now have 32,000 troops in 80 locations. Americans have trained Afghans to take their places. But can they fight?

“A U.S. general told us, the Afghans know how to fight, but there are still leadership skills that need to be taught.”

Bustos recounted a meeting she had with Afghan girls: “The girls we met with, ages 13 to 18, would not have been able to go to school earlier. We asked them to raise their hands if they fear the Taliban. Nearly every one of the girls raised their hands.

“Their fear is, will the Taliban reemerge? Will they have to go back to the way things were before (the U.S. invasion) where women were physically abused, sexually abused, mentally abused as a routine, and not given anything close to equal rights?”

I asked her if the U.S. presence has made a difference in 13 years.

“A general told us it wasn’t until 2008 and 2009 that progress started to be made. The general said that to change a culture is a 30- to 40-year commitment.” I asked her if the U.S. is getting out completely.

“The president has said we’ll keep 10,000 troops there. I think the Afghan people have a lot of concern about what will happen. The biggest sign for our military and for the Afghan people is that the election in April went smoothly.”

I asked Bustos if she thinks our occupation of Afghanistan was worth the cost in human lives and dollars.

“The Afghans are very grateful to America. Our troops feel like they’ve made a difference. We’ve brought about a lot of good things. We’ve invested in women, kids, education. We’ve built miles and miles of highways and bridges.”

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger who represents most of Rockford’s east side and Belvidere, called Sunday for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Sec. Eric Shinseki. Kinzinger, R-Channahon, spoke as a guest on “Meet the Press,” where the topic was the growing scandal at the Veterans Administration over a cover-up of delayed care in VA hospitals around the country. Whistleblowers have charged that 40 people have died nationwide due to the extreme delays.

Host David Gregory asked Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and a pilot in the Illinois Air National Guard, how the delays in veterans’ care became so serious and widespread.

“When I got elected in 2010, the issue of VA backlog was on the front burner. And, you know, there was talk a year ago of should we ask for Shinseki’s resignation. A group of a few of us were talking about it. And I don’t jump on the resignation bandwagon. But this has gone from an incompetence and a backlog to something criminal, something where people are hiding veterans’ names, people are dying,” Kinzinger said. “I think it’s time for Shinseki to resign because we need to get ... somebody there who knows how to fix the problem.”